This policy brief uses data collected by the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) to examine nearly 55,000 nonprofits that reported the ages and benefits of their chief officers on Forms 990 in 1998.

Six major findings are highlighted:

1. The median annual salary for chief executives of nonprofits was $42,000, a relatively low wage when compared with other occupations.  
2. Salaries of executives in the nonprofit sector were highest for those employed at hospitals and higher education institutions. 
3. Larger nonprofits generally paid higher salaries to chief executives than smaller nonprofits.
4. Hospitals and higher education nonprofits are most likely to supplement their executive wages with employee benefit plans or deferred compensation.
5. Expense accounts and other allowances serve as important supplements to the base pay of chief executives. Although this benefit is provided by only 10.9% of nonprofits, faith-related organizations and hospitals are most likely to pay these expenses to their chief executives.
6. Compensation to executives throughout the nonprofit sector vary significantly and is usually based on an organization's size, activities, and reliance on different streams of revenue. This makes it difficult to create policy that would target specific types of organizations for sanctions by the Internal Revenue Service.

[This is No. 11 in the series, Charting Civil Society, by the Center on Nonprofits and
 Philanthropy.]

 

For More Information Contact:

Public Affairs
The Urban Institute
2100 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
Tel: 202.261.5709
E-mail: [email protected]

 

 

Link:

http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=310372

 

This policy brief uses data collected by the National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) to examine nearly 55,000 nonprofits that reported the ages and benefits of their chief officers on Forms 990 in 1998.